Canada Stocks Rise to Highest Since 2011 as Gold Shares Climb

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose, with the
Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index climbing above the 13,000
level for the first time since July 2011, as precious metals
producers jumped in the wake of a debt-limit deal in Washington.

B2Gold Corp. and Eldorado Gold Corp. surged at least 8.9
percent as the 10 biggest gains in the benchmark equity gauge
were miners. Africa Oil Corp. surged 14 percent after deciding
to sell shares to fund exploration. Canadian Natural Resources
Ltd. and Bankers Petroleum Ltd. each slipped 1.5 percent as the
price of crude fell on rising U.S. inventories. CGI Group Inc.
fell 3.4 percent, retreating from a record high.

The S&P/TSX rose 79.15 points, or 0.6 percent, to 13,036.36
at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has
climbed 1.1 percent this week.

“The gains today are primarily driven by materials and
gold,” said Brian Huen, managing partner with Red Sky Capital
Management Ltd. in Toronto. He helps manage C$220 million
($213.7 million). “The resolution of yesterday is what’s
driving the buying today. Once that plan was unveiled, and it
wasn’t the best plan in the world, as it’s a kick the can down
the road kind of plan, people wanted some protection. You’re
seeing a rally in gold as insurance.”

U.S. lawmakers avoided a debt default and ended a
government shutdown, pushing through a bill that funds the
government through Jan. 15, 2014, and suspends the debt limit
through Feb. 7.

Raw-materials producers jumped 2.7 percent as a group, as
six industries among 10 in the S&P/TSX advanced. Trading volume
was 2.5 percent above the 30-day average at this time of the
day.

B2Gold rallied 8.9 percent to C$2.46 and Eldorado Gold
jumped 9.3 percent to C$6.38 as 22 of 24 members of the S&P/TSX
Gold Index advanced. The price of the metal jumped the most in a
month, surging 3.2 percent to $1,323 an ounce in New York.

Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest producer of the
metal, increased 4.6 percent to C$19.06 and Goldcorp Inc.
advanced 3.4 percent to C$25.24.

Africa Oil

Africa Oil, the oil and gas explorer with licenses in
Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, soared 14 percent to C$9.60, the
highest close in almost 11 months. The company will sell as many
as 56.5 million shares at SEK 51.75 (C$8.25) a share for gross
proceeds of $450 million, Africa Oil said in a statement.

The cash will be used to fund Africa Oil’s future
exploration and development activities in East Africa, as well
as for general capital purposes.

CGI Group tumbled 3.4 percent to C$37.09, snapping four
days of gains. The stock rallied 5.6 percent from Oct. 9 to a
record high of C$38.41 yesterday. Open Text Corp. lost 0.7
percent to C$78.20.

BlackBerry Ltd., the smartphone maker looking to sell
itself, rose 0.2 percent to C$8.44, erasing earlier losses of as
much as 1.3 percent.

Lenovo Group Ltd., the world’s largest personal-computer
maker, has signed a non-disclosure agreement with BlackBerry and
is considering a bid for the company, Dow Jones reported.

BlackBerry has tumbled 28 percent this year. The company
said it has begun selling unlocked BlackBerry smartphones online
directly to consumers in the U.S., including the Z10 and Q10
models.

Canadian Natural Resources slipped 1.5 percent to C$33.26
and Bankers Petroleum retreated 1.5 percent to C$4.04 as crude
dropped to a three-month low. U.S. supplies increased by 5.94
million barrels last week, according to the American Petroleum
Institute yesterday.